Bruce Browner, Chairman of Orthopedic Surgery at the Health
Center, is working with an international coalition of medical
experts to raise awareness about the most common causes of physical
disability throughout the world: diseases and injuries of bones
and joints.

Browner, a professor with the UConn School of Medicine and director
of orthopedics at Hartford Hospital, is one of three Americans
to serve on the international steering committee for The Decade
of the Bone and Joint, 2000-2010. He was in Geneva on Jan. 13
to launch the first initiative of The Decade of the Bone and
Joint, a worldwide study on the impact of musculoskeletal injuries,
at the headquarters of the World Health Organization.

"Musculoskeletal injuries and disorders are the most common
causes of severe long-term pain throughout the world," Browner
says. "They range from fractures and dislocations caused by
road traffic accidents, sports injuries and other traumatic
incidents, to joint diseases like osteoarthritis, bone mass
problems like osteoporosis, spinal disorders, low back pain
and pediatric orthopedic problems."

Similar to an effort in the '90s, The Decade of the Brain, which
set out to raise awareness about neurological problems, organizers
of The Decade of the Bone and Joint want to increase understanding
of the global impact of musculoskeletal injuries and disorders.
Their goals for the decade are to:

Raise awareness and educate the world about the societal impact
of musculoskeletal injuries and disorders;

Empower patients to participate in decisions about their
care and treatment;

Continually seek and promote cost-effective prevention and
treatment of musculoskeletal injuries and disorders.

Browner notes that the timing of this designation is significant
because the world's population is aging. Arthritis accounts
for more than half of all chronic conditions in people over
age 50. And fractures caused by osteoporosis are more common
among older people.

"In the U.S., baby-boomers are inching out of middle age and
will soon be experiencing many of these problems," he says.
"Worldwide, the number of people over 65 will soon be greater
than the number of people under 20."

Efforts to launch The Decade of the Bone and Joint began when
a group of health care providers and patient advocacy groups
came together in 1998. Browner became involved through his role
as Chairman of the International Committee of the American Academy
of Orthopedic Surgeons. He was elected to serve on the steering
committee in 1998 and has been working intensely with the group
since then.

The first initiative of The Decade of the Bone and Joint will
be the Bone and Joint Monitor Project. Working with the World
Health Organization, this unprecedented project will study the
impact of musculoskeletal injuries and disorders across the
world; measure the burden of these conditions on society; and
measure the efficacy of prevention and treatment strategies
worldwide.

To date, 40 countries have established networks to plan activities
related to The Bone and Joint Decade. Also, 15 countries have
officially designated the years 2000-2010 The Bone and Joint
Decade, and the project has garnered support from the United
Nations, the World Health Organization and the World Bank.